AN INVESTIGATION is taking place after students at Exeter University were seen wearing T-shirts with racist and anti-Semitic slogans at a sports club social event.

The slogans appeared during a white T-shirt social event hosted by the Exeter Snowsports club - when people are invited to scribble comments on others' shirts with felt-tip pens.

Photographs from the event appeared on the +972 website, an online magazine concentrating on reporting events in Israel and Palestine.

Phrases photographed included: "Don't speak to me if you're not white," and, "The Holocaust was a good time."

Anti-Semitism is defined as prejudice or hostility against Jews, six million of whom were killed in the Nazi genocide campaign during the Second World War.

+972 reporter Dimi Reider said pictures of the T-shirts were taken by a Palestinian student who posted then on Facebook. The student wrote: "Making light of genocide and white privilege is not 'banter', you f*** imbeciles."

A university spokesman said: "The University of Exeter is an inclusive and friendly environment where all students are welcomed.

"Anti-Semitic, racist or bigoted behaviour in any form is not tolerated. An investigation was launched as soon as the University learnt of this incident."

The student news website Exepose reported the shirts were worn during a pub crawl for new students on Tuesday, which ended in Timepiece bar.

Lauren Fry, the president of Exeter Snowsports society, told +972 she was unaware of the slogans during the event. She said: "Comments like these are not tolerated within our club."

She said Timepiece staff asked people to leave or change if they were seen with abusive slogans on their shirts.

She added: "We apologise if we offended any one and we feel appropriate action was taken on the night to deal with these type of slogans if they were seen on anyone at our social.

"Snowsports has a zero tolerance policy for these actions and we will be contacting our members in due course to express this."

Mark Kiner speaking on behalf of Jewish Society and Friends of Israel, told Exepose: "We condemn this and any other kind of anti-semitism and racism in the strongest terms.

"Some individuals might think that it's merely a joke and doesn't mean much but these were real events which happened to real people, and as such they should be respected.

"We urge the university to investigate and punish the students involved accordingly."